Modernism

Austin Broussard, Tess Cunningham, Owen Johnson,

Kylie Madere, Jack Morganti
An Overview of Modernism
Realism Naturalism Modernism

Modernism reflects the worldview after World War I

The Lost Generation

It reflects the hopelessness felt by the soldiers who fought in World War I

Modernism challenges the human morality, and questions how moral we really
are; because of the new type of war
Characteristics Include:

The Wealth of Middle and Upper Class

Experimentation with Gender Roles

Major Authors and Literary Works
T.S. Elliot; A Game of Chess, O Light Invisible From the Rock

F. Scott Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, Bernice Bobs Her
Hair

Ernest Hemingway; Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the
Sea
The Wealth of Middle and Upper Class
West Egg represents newly rich, while East Egg represents old aristocracy

Newly rich: vulgar, gaudy, no social grace or taste

Old rich: grace, taste, subtlety, and elegance

The clash between East and West Egg shows how the old timers refuse to accept the change being
shown by those in West Egg

Fitzgerald uses the modernist characteristic of wealth to also show breaking from tradition and
changing

The old rich see themselves as better than the newly rich, and its almost like they see the newly rich as
the middle class within the upper class

Though the newly rich are vulgar and gaudy, they are more kind, caring, loving than the old rich

This is shown by Gatsbys compassion for Daisy in not letting her be punished
Gender Roles

Men are still dominant, while women are beginning to gain rights.

Traditional values are less practiced.

Physical looks and wealth are big factors in marriages.

In The Great Gatsby, Daisy is aware her husband is having an affair but does
not act upon it.

Daisy, like many other women during the time, focus on marrying for wealth.

There is a general lack of respect between genders.

Daisy says about her daughter, I hope shell be a fool - thats the best thing a
Pop Culture- The Jazz Age
The Jazz Age The Roaring Twenties
Defined as a cultural movement.
1920s: This was a time of speakeasies, flappers, and most importantly Jazz.
The Jazz Age influenced every aspect of the art and literature during this period
and played a huge role in differing what the norm was.
This led people to question their ideas that they had about what was a part of
the stereotypical expectations, and this led to self-expression.
Writers in the 20s deviated from the former literary rules defined before and
ventured into new concepts and ideas, and this displays throughout their
writing.
The Great Gatsby is considered the stereotypical text for the Jazz Age.
Bleakness of Rural Life
Modernist literature takes place in cities (Usually bustling with activity)

A form of escapism

The Great Gatsby takes place in the vibrant New York City
In The Great Gatsby, all the characters move East from the Midwest
Instead of being the warm center of the world, the Middle West
now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe-so I decided to go East
and learn the bond business (Fitzgerald, 3)
During the 1920s this was common place